Blackstone is hoping to buy a 95-hectare UK site originally planned for Britishvolt’s battery factory and develop it into a major data centre complex in a £110m (€129m) bid.
The Northumberland County Council’s Cabinet disclosed in a meeting agenda that it is set to consider a transaction with Blackstone concerning the Northumberland Energy Park (NEP3) land site in Cambois, to enable the potential development of a hyperscale datacentre campus.
The council has scheduled a meeting on 23 April with an agenda item seeking cabinet approval for the NEP3 acquisition.
If agreed, the council would receive up to £110m in “exchange for amending the buy-back option on the NEP3 land site, and use the proceeds to establish a fund which will drive investment, including in the economic corridor along our fantastic, new Northumberland Line”.
Council leader, councillor Glen Sanderson, said: “Driving growth and jobs is a key priority for this Council. Next week, cabinet will consider this really unique opportunity for Northumberland which offers a huge boost to the regeneration and renaissance of the local area.
“The project would represent a significant inward investment of up to £10bn, putting our County at the forefront of developments in the digital economy, and delivering over 1,600 direct jobs, including 1,200 long-term construction jobs, and over 2,700 indirect jobs over the course of the development.”
NEP3, was initially designated as the location for a large-scale battery factory by Britishvolt, a UK battery startup that went bankrupt last year due to financial difficulties.
The planned £3.8bn factory in Blyth, which had the backing of the UK government, was expected to build enough cells each year for over 300,000 electric vehicle battery packs, equivalent to 25% of current UK vehicle manufacture.
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